Review

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When the owners of the casually quaint Tartine, Lynn and Sarah Pritchard, decided to update their bistro and change the name to Table 128, I assumed that they might dress up the place a bit, add a few new dishes, move some tables around.

What I did not expect was the seismic and brilliant overhaul that transpired.

Out went the former whim­sical French farmhouse decor and mounted chalk­board. In their place, taupe walls and subdued food art. The interior is still casual but muted.

The menu is a well-craft­ed study of fresh, local ingredients. Appetizers are, well, delightfully appetiz­ing. The steamed mussels ($9) come bathed in a soul-warming broth that’s garlicky and wonderful with bread, and I relished the “ugly doughnuts” for $6. This quartet of pillowy fritters, akin to hush puppies, are laced with herbs and five cheeses for a robust flavor you can enhance with a swipe in the marinara dipping sauce.

And somehow chef Lynn Pritchard made me love kale, a trendy if tough green, with his side of ten­der kale Caesar salad.

The most popular entree, servers tell me, is the trout ($22), which is laid head to tail on a big plate brushed with broad swirls of bright yellow saffron sauce. The river fish is carefully de­boned and scented with sprigs of fresh thyme placed in its belly then gently cooked until flaky and tender. Crisp-tender French green beans and crunchy marcona almonds go over top.

Likewise, the hard-work­ing flank steak ($21) is per­fection, grilled and sliced, then wrapped around a mound of creme fraiche laced whipped potatoes so buttery and rich they gave me goose bumps. The succu­lent rare beef is partnered with a muscular red wine sauce dribbled generously on the plate.

This is darn good cooking: pretty without pretension, aromatic, properly pre­pared, and so very flavorful. Nothing on the plate didn’t need to be there.

There are more casual dishes, too. Burgers have been a mainstay of the chef’s repertoire since Tartine and that continues here. Bites of the Table 128 burger ($12) with Swiss cheese and La Quercia prosciutto are meaty and wonderful. Is that a hint of truffle oil I detect as well?

There are two other burgers: a Maytag blue cheese ditty and a foie gras topped burger that I still have on my bucket list.

For dessert, be ready to smile. I tried several over multiple visits and they were all excellent, but the gold star goes to the chef’s salty chocolate-caramel tart ($6), which is gilded with bits of edible gold!

Wine has always been a significant player here, but I love the new categories: new, interesting wines under “leap of faith” and old favorites under “tried and true.” There are many to choose from and my glass, the quaffable rose — a grenache-cinsault-syrah blend — was a spot-on food wine and well priced at $7 per generous pour. If you can’t pick a drink, consider the endless wine glass for $24 and taste them all!

Revisions complete, Table 128 is ready to take its place among the best restaurants in the region. It offers a more fulfilling dining experience than Tartine did, and the chef, a truer, more satisfying expression of his cuisine.